Youngsters at a new junior football club in Southport were delighted when one of the most successful football managers in Europe turned up as a guest of honour for their first ever awards presentation.
Players at Southport Athletic Junior Football Club enjoyed their awards ceremony at Southport Rugby Football Club on Saturday, where they were overjoyed to be joined by former title winning Celtic player and manager Neil Lennon.
Southport Athletic Junior Football Club is a newly formed club, founded in March last year to help develop young footballers aged 6 to 16. It was founded from the previous Phoenix FC under a completely new management.
The club has an inclusive culture and wants the young players to enjoy their footballing experience.
Paul Mullan runs Southport Athletic Junior Football Club along with friends Alan McCoombe and Ben Minto.
Paul said: “What a day! Saturday was our first presentation day and it went amazingly well.
“We would like to say a big thank you to Sue Astwood at Southport Rugby Football Club for donating raffle prizes, Jeff Wilkinson at Bouncy Castle Parade for supplying the inflatables and Lisa at Lisa’s Big Balloon for the balloon arch.”
Neil Lennon is a good friend of Chris Mooney, the club’s Under-7s manager, and Joanne Delaney-McGuffie, and was delighted to come down and support the youngsters.
Paul Mullan said: “It was a great surprise to see Neil Lennon at our awards event!
“Chris Mooney came down with Neil, and introduced me to him. I suddenly looked at him and thought ‘that’s Neil Lennon’!
“When the parents saw who it was, there was lots of whispering, people saying ‘It’s Neil Lennon’!
“He had quite a steady stream of people asking him for photos and for autographs. He was really good, very generous with his time.
“He also helped us to draw the raffle.
“At the end of the event I thanked him for coming along to our presentation.
The first ever Southport Athletic Junior Football Club presentation, at Southport Rugby Football Club
“He just said ‘no – thank you. If it wasn’t for people like you doing what you do, there wouldn’t be people like me in the game’.
“For him to come out and say something like that at the end of the night felt really good, and really rewarding.
“There are lots of long hours involved in running a junior football club!
“But it is a real vocation, and it is something we all enjoy doing.”
Neil Lennon certainly gave the young players something to aspire to after the career he has been enjoying, no doubt with even more success and trophies to follow.
As a player he won five league titles, four Scottish Cups, two Scottish League Cups and a UEFA Cup runner-up medal; as well as two League Cups with Leicester City.
As a manager with Celtic he won five league titles, four Scottish Cups and a Scottish league Cup, plus a Scottish Championship title with Hibernian.
Winning becomes a habit. So he was delighted to see Southport Athletic Junior Football Club youngsters celebrate showing off their first trophy at their presentation, after the Under 9s won the Under 9 Shield.
The first ever Southport Athletic Junior Football Club presentation, at Southport Rugby Football Club
The club now has great ambitions to develop further as they look forward to the 2021/22 season, starting this September.
They currently play at Ferryside Lane while they try to find a permanent home somewhere in the town.
Paul Mullan said: “The kids have missed out on so much during the pandemic and the various lockdowns. It was great to see them being able to finally lift their trophy in front of all the other kids in the club.
“We are planning on doing lots of fundraising this season, with some money going to the club and other funds raised going to Queenscourt Hospice.
“We want to ensure that the kids have great facilities, and we want the club to be very active in our community.
“Just before Christmas, we ran a foodbank and people very kindly donated lots of food. There were lots of members who were struggling during lockdown. We just wanted to be able to give something back.
“We enjoy playing at Ferryside Lane, so last Christmas we wanted to thank all the local residents and the local dog walkers. The children went round handing out Christmas cards and mince pies locally.
The first ever Southport Athletic Junior Football Club presentation, at Southport Rugby Football Club
“Because there was no football in lockdown, we put on Joe Wickes style Zoom fitness sessions twice a week for members. We did it to help them keep fit, and also so they could all keep seeing each other and so they wouldn’t miss their friends.
“I would like to say a big thank you to all our sponsors, we have had banners made with their logos on which we can display at games.
“We started off with around 130 children in the club, next year it will be around 160, It is growing. We are always happy to welcome new members.
“Our long term aim is to eventually find a base and to build a clubhouse for the young players and everyone in the community to enjoy.”
“We are just trying to be better, and to be really community focused.”
- For more details about Southport Athletic Junior Football Club visit: southportathletic.co.uk
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